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March 25, 1988
I appreciate Dr. Harrison's thoughtful comments differentiating the oceanic experience from awe, but I am puzzled as to why he thinks I should have made such a distinction. It was not only irrelevant to the purpose of my paper, but he might as well have criticized my failure to differentiate the oceanic experience from the other 25 altered stages of consciousness which I mention. The critical point is that, on the evidence of his letter, it would appear that the main thesis of my paper has eluded Harrison.
Of major importance is Harrison's allegation that I "endorse" the oceanic experience, and, through that back door, that I endorse mysticism. That charge makes as little sense as to endorse, or disapprove of, any altered state of consciousness. I attempted to describe the oceanic experience and to explore it from a psychoanalytic perspective. I used the oceanic experience principally to illustrate the complex nature of consciousness. Curiously, Harrison himself grudgingly admits that in the "rare and fortuitous [sic]" instances of Rolland and Russell, the oceanic experience did serve to enhance ego growth.
Harrison writes that I regard the oceanic experience as conducive